i am 19 years old and in chicago, il. my friends from highschool always used to shoplift and i'd be with them when they did it. i decided one day that i was finally going to do it because it seemed so easy. so i went into a clothing store and decided to try to take two things [which together was under $150.] i put it in my cvs bag and as soon as i left the dressing room, i completely felt guilty and didn't want to do it anymore. i left it in my bag and still continued to shop - which i ended up actually purchasing $65 worth of things - then i completely walked out, forgetting about what was in my bag - the police came and they asked the manager what they wanted to do - i thought that it could have been settled there but then a girl claimed that "tea lights" were missing and accused me of it! they arrested me, and thats when i broke down - i had told the truth about the two things i took but had no idea what they were talking about with the tea lights - i was put in jail, and had a $100 bond. i'm so scared that i'm going to jail and that this is going to be with me for the rest of my life. my court date is on november 1 - please someone help me and tell me what is going to happen. i have a clean record, i'm a good student, i'm a good person - i'm just an idiot who thought i could try this out when really, i was committing a crime. and on top of that, i'm a typical poor college student - do i need a lawyer? am i going to get a harsher punishment if i just have a public defender? what are the fines? can i get an expungement? please someone give me advice i cant stop crying and worrying - please help me.

